The Storyteller (Teaser 3)

Flames from the campfire illuminate the small village courtyard. People gather around, ales in hand, children
in tow and sit around the flames. The
smell of smoking grass is in the air, puffs of smoke rising from behind the
flames, the light of the fire dancing in the glass of the storyteller’s
spectacles.

An old man, his skin aged, beard long and gray, stands up behind the
fire looking out to all that have gathered.
Parents hush their children to listen to what the storyteller may tell
of this evening.

The old man packs more smoking grass into his pipe and lights it, the
flames from his stick flashing in front of his face. Smoke slowly pours out of his mouth as he
speaks…

“Tonight I tell you a story from the old days, over millennia ago, when
all the people of the world were still alike.”
He puffs on his pipe, looking up to the northern skies where a slight
red hue can be seen on the horizon. “A
time before the eternal darkness of the north and the rise of the Dark Lord.”

Murmurs are heard from the crowd and they quickly fall silent once
again, anticipating the tale.

“In the time before The Sundering, when Fenorra was one unified
continent, the grand city of Kalentenia was its crown sitting on the northern
most point of Fenorra. Kalentenia was
prosperous, King Tallion ruled all the land sternly but fair. The city bustled day in and day out with
merchants, schools, labs and the like.
It is said that their great prosperity was because the grand city was
not plagued by the walking dead of the nights.
This was thanks to what was called the Lumis stone which stood in the
center of the city. It stood fifteen
feet tall and four feet wide and it was made of polished white marble. As
legend has it that is what warded the city from the scourge of the undead.”

He puffs on his pipe; the scent of smoking grass fills the air. “Kalentenia was unrivaled as the capital city
of all of Fenorra. This is the way it
had always been. Years went by and the
King grew old, his son Prince Adain was expected to take over the throne in the
coming years.”

“In the later years of the Kings life a strange sickness began to
spread through the city. It started with
fevers, aches and vomiting but before long people began to fall into deep
sleeps that they could not be awakened from.
It was not long after the this that deaths began to be reported. The plague that started with just a handful
sick spread into a plague that was consuming the city.”

“The king ordered his greatest healers and alchemists to investigate
and find a cure. But they could
not. Healers and formalists from other
cities came to assist, but they too could not find a cure or the cause. As more and more people of Kalentenia fell
ill the King did not know what to do.”

The storyteller stands and walks closer to the fire; the beads in his
hair can be heard clanking together as he walks in the silence of the
crowd. “One foggy morning a lone healer
came to town. He requested audience with
the King, with the claim that he believed he could find a cure for the plague
that gripped the city. Eager to hear his
story the King granted him audience. The
man introduced himself as Malik, a powerful healer and formalist. He explained to the King that he believed he
could create a potion to possibly cure the epidemic.”

“The king desperate to save his people granted Malik access to the
royal labs and forges and any assistance he may need. This dismayed his son,
Prince Adain, who did not trust Malik. It was shortly after this that the Kings
age began to get the better of him and he retired to his bed chambers for the
remainder of his days, his son stepping up in his place.”

“The mysterious healer was not seen much until one day not too long
after his arrival he came to the Prince with a potion. He explained that this potion would keep the
plague from affecting those who were not already sick. Malik claimed to be still looking for the
cause of the plague and would find a cure for those who already fell ill but it
would take more time. Reluctantly, at
the insistence of his beloved father, the Prince agreed to drink the potion.”

The fire cracked loudly, a burst of embers and smoke erupted into the
sky above the crowd of people, many of them jumping startled, some children
letting out a screech. The old
storyteller sits back down, repacking his pipe and lighting it again with
another flash of flame.

“As Malik had promised, the potion kept people healthy, the plague did
not spread. But the people already sick
did not get any better, and continued to die.
The King met with Malik and praised him on his potion, thanking him for
saving the healthy. The King fond of
Malik granted him hospitality within the castle, again, much to Adain’s
dismay.”

“Without warning, weeks later the Prince fell ill. It started with fever and aches just as the
plague had started. The king stricken
with sorrow felt helpless to help his son.
Now weak and feeble the King attempted to rule once again, to be there
for his people. He requested Malik to be
his adviser, which he accepted graciously.
Malik continued his studies to find the cause of the plague all the
while advising the King in all his day to day decisions.”

“Eventually the Prince fell into a wake-less sleep just as many of the
citizens had before him. The King was grief stricken. His advancing age
coupled with a broken heart was too much for him and lay in his bed
chamber. Sorrow welled in his mind, the
only heir to the throne laid dying and he himself knew he would pass soon. It was shortly after this that Malik came to
the king, he believed the cause of the sickness to be the Lumis stone. He believed the stone had been slowly
poisoning the area as a side effect of its undead warding powers. He asked of the King to order it destroyed.”

The light of the fire seemed to grow and dance wildly, casting shadows
all around the crowd and across the storytellers face. There was a long pause and the fire calmed,
“King Tallion, willing to do anything to save his son and people, gave the
order for the Lumis stone to be destroyed.
And so it was. Broken into
hundreds of pieces and carted far from the city to be disposed of. And that very night for the first time in
known history the undead did come.”

“Within just days the sick began to regain consciousness, their fevers
cooling and aches calming. All but the
Prince, who lay in his chamber in a deep slumber, unchanging since the Lumis
stone's destruction. The King was
relieved for his people but saddened by his son's diminishing health; he turned
once again to Malik for advisement.”

“After a short time Malik stated that he could save the Prince’s
life. He warned the king that there
would be some side effects from the treatment.
The most severe being sensitivity to sunlight, however Malik had a
solution for that as well. He could also
produce a way for his son to be able to walk throughout the city and people day
or night. They king withering from his
age and grief pleaded with Malik to do anything he could. And with that Malik had the Prince brought
into his chamber and locked the door behind him.”

The storyteller lights his pipe again, pausing in his story to look
over the fire. The reflection of the
flames dancing in the wide eyes of the crowd.

“It is said that the very next dawn a dark cloaked figure was seen
standing on the tallest tower of the castle, hands raised to the sky, eyes
glowing red, and the sky turned ever night.”